The digital age has brought us a variety of unique and quirky things that people in the past couldn’t even fathom but this one takes the cake. Today, you can become a citizen of The Rainbow Republic, a micronation that exists entirely online made for the LGBTQ+ community. They invite people to register citizenship, business and marriage with them even though they don’t own any physical land. How does this all work, you may ask? We will explain it all to you now.

Before we delve into the technicalities of The Rainbow Republic, let us give you a short history lesson on micronations. Micronations first gained popularity after an abandoned World War II gun platform off of the coast of England was officially declared a country in 1967, founded by Roy Bates. This new country was called Sealand and erected its flag on the elevated platform which is smaller than the Vatican City. Sealand stands to this day and is a recognised micronation with an active website and merchandise store, where people can buy stamps, identity cards, and even become a lord or a lady by purchasing a certificate. It even has its own American football club which often competes in minor league competitions.

Following the establishment of this micronation, there were others that wanted to have recognised republics of their own, some of which sadly didn’t stand the test of time. Many of these micronations always attempted to have a small chunk of land, whether natural or man-made but soon came the rise of digital micronations. One such micronation claims to be the world’s very first internet-based sovereign country called Wirtland. Founded in 2008, they state that their inspiration to create Wirtland came from creating an “experiment into legitimacy and self-sustainability of a country without its own soil.”

With our brief history lesson on micronations over, let us get into the nitty gritty all about The Rainbow Republic. Dimitri Shikhov only recently founded this online micronation in August 2022 and on their website they state The Rainbow Republic is a “truly free and democratic digital state promoting interests of LGBTQ+ community beyond physical borders.” What makes them different from any other physical or digital micronation is that they are “trying to build a whole ecosystem for LGBTQ+ people and their supporters… not only about shared interests but also about the political, social and economic system,” along with the republic believing that “physical territory is not important in the digital age.”

Welcome to the Twitter page of the Rainbow Republic!
Follow us to get the latest new and updates, take part in our social activities and interact with the community!#therainbowrepublic #LGBT #LGBTQ #micronation pic.twitter.com/od2vMs1lev

— The Rainbow Republic (@TheRainbowRepu1) September 11, 2022

In their government, they have The Rainbow Assembly which “debates on and adopts acts, ratifies international treaties and initiates referendums.” They follow a parliamentary republic where “The Public Administration consists of the Rainbow Assembly, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court.” Ever since the republic’s founding, they have written up a detailed constitution which describes the beliefs and values of the republic. The constitution can be found here. The currency of the micronation is Rainbow Coin along with other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

People interested in becoming citizens can submit an online application through their website. Once the application is approved, there is a processing fee to pay and, after that, the official certificate and ID will be issued in five working days.

Sounds simple, but why would you want to become a citizen of an online micronation? The website states, “if you are dissatisfied with your current country, strive for a truly free & democratic community and share LGBTQ+ values, the Rainbow Republic is the right choice.” As long as you are over 18 and share the values set in their constitution you are eligible to be a citizen and you will be able to “take part in the General Elections and referendums.” The best thing about this is that you get to keep your current country’s citizenship too.

Along with receiving citizenship from The Rainbow Republic, you are also eligible to register your marriage in their nation. Their marriage laws are more inclusive than any other government in the world, claiming that “you can register the marriage in the Rainbow Republic even if your country doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages,” and also allowing citizens to “register as a marriage a partnership of two, three and even more persons.” Once again you can register your marriage online through an application on their website as long as all parties are consenting to the marriage.

The Rainbow Republic’s last thing you can register for is to have your business recognised. They promise to give businesses a zero tax rate and to give people the opportunity to “get new clients and partnerships in the LGBTQ+ community as well as increase your brand awareness.” After successfully applying you will have your company included in their business register and receive a certificate of recognition.

There is so much more to discover about The Rainbow Republic and we have only scraped the surface of what the online micronation is setting out to be. It has lots of growing to do and is always looking for friendly LGBTQ+ people to join the republic’s worldwide digital ecosystem.